Kevin Cash Pushes All the Right Buttons in Must-Win Rays Games

When the Tampa Bay Rays won Game 4 of the ALCS on Saturday night, it was with a new-look lineup, especially in one key area.

What’s now been dubbed by the national media as the “Big Three,” comprising Yandy Diaz, Jonathan Aranda, and Junior Caminero, was refreshed with Chandler Simpson batting between them.

Manager Kevin Cash, a frequent lineup tinkerer, was looking for an offensive breakout from the team’s recent sloppy form and believed Simpson’s elevated lineup spot could do the trick.

That, along with several other levers Cash pulled in Game Four, led to a crucial 7-3 win. Simpson’s bat did a fantastic job breaking up the pitching plans, as Stephen Vogt was often unable to find a same-side platoon advantage in innings against a one-through-four of righties and lefties.

Kevin Cash showed elite managing in Game 4

While Diaz and Aranda were finding their way on board, the job of driving them in didn’t immediately fall on Caminero. Instead, Simpson’s aptitude for taking long at-bats and finding ways to move runners over helped set up key RBI situations like his sixth-inning walk and seventh-inning sacrifice fly.

Of course, the takeaway from this game was those Big Three bats coming to life again. Caminero drove a high fastball for a double to give Tampa Bay the lead in the sixth. Diaz smacked his first playoff home run since his first one ever in the 2019 AL Wild Card. Aranda topped it all off as man of the match with three hits and two RBIs, fueling the run production.

This was part of the advantage Cash was hoping to gain from his constant lineup recalibration. The difference in attack plans at the plate for two hitters like Simpson and Caminero is vast, and putting them back-to-back created a different Cleveland pitching strategy than usual when runners were on in front of them.

It’s a tactic that may just be coincidental with the offensive turnaround, but it’s likely to be seen again, given how well everything clicked on Saturday night.

It’s worth noting that Cash’s managerial performance in Game Four continues to be the Rays’ ace up their sleeve. He made all the right moves, starting with lineup construction. Yet, trusting Nick Martinez in a crucial start, with Rasmussen available, backed up his faith in the guys who have led the way.

Deploying Freddy Peralta in relief with a thin margin backs up the lengths he’ll go to secure every lead. He played this game like a chess match and, with the help of his squad’s performance, trumped the Guardians in a must-win game on the road, which helped set the table for a successful Game 5j.

The Rays are now heading back to Tropicana Field looking to close things out with a 3-2 lead in the ALCS.